On Media

MSNBC disputes National Review report

By DYLAN BYERS

01/06/2014 01:09 PM EST

MSNBC is disputing a new report from National Review's Eliana Johnson that states that Rachel Maddow, rather than President Phil Griffin, "provides MSNBC’s editorial direction, and that she also holds considerable sway over personnel decisions."

"The NRO story is absurd and full of inaccuracies from beginning to end," MSNBC spokesperson Lauren Skowronski told us. "To start, Rachel has absolutely no role in network management decisions. Writing her show every night is more than enough work. She gladly leaves talent management to her bosses. We're disappointed that the National Review would run a story with more anonymous, uninformed sources than you'd ever find on the gossip pages."

The network is also denying Johnson's claim that, in response to a recent string of controversies involving on-air remarks, an executive has been tasked with reviewing scripts before they go on air.

"MSNBC has had an editorial and script review process in place since the network began in 1996," Skowronski said.

Indeed, Rich Stockwell, the executive cited in Johnson's report, has been in his position for more than six months; though it would not be surprising if he had increased his scrutiny of those scripts in the wake of the recent controversies. For weeks, we've been arguing that the controversial remarks -- from Alec Baldwin, Martin Bashir, Melissa Harris-Perry, and others — have created a branding problem for MSNBC. I wrote about this in November and again last month, and discussed it on CNN's "Reliable Sources" over the weekend.

As I noted on "Reliable," the screw-ups, while varying in degree, are the result of a general governing philosophy at MSNBC, which is the demonization of the right. Such a philosophy promotes intellectual laziness and creates a minefield for almost anyone at the network, even those who represent NBC News. (See, for instance, the misleading video of Mitt Romney's "WaWa" remarks that Andrea Mitchell, a veteran news reporter, ran on her show during the 2012 presidential campaign.)

While Johnson may overstate Maddow's role at MSNBC, our own reporting tells us that she does have significant influence on the overall tone and direction of the network's programming. And as Johnson reports, Maddow wants to steer the tone back toward "highbrow intellectualism." Which is a good way to avoid controversy, so long as the highbrow intellectuals — see Harris-Perry — can steer clear of errant mockery.